TMZ Live

As millions of refugees continue to flee Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, one couple is springing into action in the most humanitarian way -- giving traumatized families a safe place to sleep and begin their new lives.

Jakub and Gosia Golata are Polish-born UK citizens who've done something remarkable ... dropping everything in their lives and heading back to their native land to offer assistance by booking the entire Park Hotel in Tryszczyn. It currently has 180 beds, and the Golatas are using them exclusively to provide free refuge for Ukrainians.

Not just that ... but they're also volunteering transportation to and from the border via buses they've rented there. They joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" tell -- with the assistance of donations that have been pouring in from all over.

We asked what motivated them to do all this -- especially considering they've paused their day-to-day occupations in England -- and their answer was telling ... basically, they say they just couldn't stand by and not to do nothing for a neighboring nation in crisis.

Michael Bublé may be best known for his vocals, but now he jokingly says he could ditch his singing career for TikTok ... after newfound success on the app.

The Canadian singer joined "TMZ Live" and talked about working on his upcoming 11th studio album and  ... a possible TikTok career!

Michael has had worldwide success since dropping his debut, self-titled album in '03. In January, he dropped his single "I'll Never Not Love You" ... which is a sequel to his 2009 hit "Haven't Met You Yet."

So far, he's sold 75 million albums, but he believes his latest one "Higher" is his best one yet. Although the album is slated for Friday, Michael is very excited about another hobby he's seemingly mastered overnight -- TikTok.

He tells us, he loves interacting with fans on the app, but it's more important for him to try to get more followers than his wife ... only partially joking. Back in September, he got an impressive 31.5 million views on his first video, after his wife convinced him to join.

Bublé has garnered 1.7 mil followers and 14.7 mil likes ... but, insists his wife is still winning the competition. Luckily though, he knows quite a bit about winning ... with 11 Grammy noms and 4 wins since '08.

As for "Higher", Michael says he got the help of some famous friends … including Paul McCartney, who gave his blessings for him to cover his song -- "My Valentine." Paul ended up working on the entire album and being accredited as a producer.

MB says Paul came to play, and he simply "has the ability to take good and turn it into great."

Volodymyr Zelensky's former press secretary says the guy's a good leader during war for a couple of reasons  -- including the fact he's a legal eagle.

We talked to Iuliia Mendel Monday -- who served as the Ukrainian President's spokesperson for two years after he was elected in 2019 -- and she told us what she and the rest of Zelensky's team saw in him then that the rest of the world is witnessing firsthand now.

For starters, she reveals that Zelensky was actually a lawyer in his past life -- before he was even a comedian/actor -- and that certainly plays into why he's so savvy in this difficult time.

Mendel explains her former boss' diverse background has helped him navigate what's going on with Russia ... and why he's even been willing to head to the front lines of the fighting to show support both to his troops and people, but also to negotiate as needed.

Then comes a somewhat difficult question ... what if all the backing from the world that Ukraine has received thus far simply isn't enough to fend off the Russians?

"Shark Tank" star Daymond John is having a hard time enjoying this year's NCAA Tournament ... saying he believes it's "horrible," and is actually "modern-day slavery."

The 53-year-old businessman spelled out his beef with March Madness to Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Friday ... explaining he thinks the players are getting a raw deal in the huge event.

John said there's a ton of people making millions -- if not billions -- off the tourney ... yet players aren't seeing much of the pie at all.

"The players make nothing! Zero off of all that," John said. "I think this is modern-day slavery and they're just giving them a little bit of a crumb."

John acknowledged that players do get scholarships and do now have the ability to get paid from NIL deals -- but he insisted that's nowhere near enough.

"These players are bringing in billions of dollars and making absolutely zero," he said. "It is really, I think, what business model do you know that makes billions of dollars and pays their employees zero?"

Violinist Vera Lytovchenko is opening up about her astoundingly brave performance in a Ukrainian bomb shelter, and despite deadly attacks in her hometown ... says she won't back down to the Russians.

Vera, a member of the Kharkiv City Opera Orchestra, joined us Thursday from Kharkiv, where 21 civilians had been killed earlier in the day. While Vera and most of her neighbors are sheltering, she's tugged at heartstrings around the world with a performance that's gone viral.

She told us on "TMZ Live" she got the idea to play music in her local bomb shelter from one of her violin students ... who did the same thing in a train station. Vera says she thought, "This young girl, 18 years old, is so brave. I can do something like this."

She hoped it could make a difference and keep people's minds off of the horrors of the Russian invasion ... and after posting some clips she found her comment section flooded with powerful messages.

Vera says she's been told her music is helping fellow Ukrainians who feel alone in these uncertain times.

The war literally hit too close to home for Vera recently when a bomb went off near her apartment. She's used social media to show the destruction.

Even in the face of that danger, she explained why she'll never leave Kharkiv. Saying her grandmother's grave is a few blocks away.

Vera is working with a friend to raise money for local musicians who've been affected by the war ... and says the money raised will help rebuild the music college, the conservatory and even go to struggling music students.

Congressman Mike Quigley is applauding President Volodymyr Zelensky for standing up to Vladimir Putin, and says the Russians -- and maybe the world -- seriously underestimated Ukraine's leader.

The U.S. Rep from Illinois joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" after he'd witnessed Zelensky state his case to Congress for more military assistance to defend his country from Putin's invasion ... and came away impressed.

Rep. Quigley says Zelensky's courage has managed to unite NATO in only a few weeks, despite the fact Ukraine is not even a member nation, and he's proving Putin made a huge miscalculation by taking him lightly.

As we reported ... Zelensky made an impassioned speech to Quigley and hundreds of his fellow colleagues in Congress, pleading for the U.S. and NATO to help to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine in hopes of stopping the Russians from bombing civilians.

Rep. Quigley's Chicago constituents include a neighborhood known as Ukrainian Village, and he's had conversations with Zelensky prior to today's speech.

Tech entrepreneur Andrey Liscovich is fighting for his birthplace of Ukraine by giving up his life in Silicon Valley and getting civilian soldiers the supplies they need ... and it's so dangerous he's just written his will.

Andrey joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and tells us he and his colleagues put together the Ukraine Defense Fund, taking anything they can to help support the troops.

The organization has already raised $65k ... using the money to place supply orders worldwide, getting items shipped to Poland. They're also accepting supplies as a donation ... including medical supplies, body armor and clothes.

With over 100,000 volunteers joining the Ukrainian armed forces since the war began, the army doesn't have enough necessities to go around. He says, "You can imagine a guy ... coming in a sweater, getting an AK-47, and perhaps a few spare magazines and not get much besides that."

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is personal for Andrey ... growing up in Ukraine, he knew he couldn't sit on the sidelines while destruction plagues his people.

Andrey says he's even drafted a will on his laptop while the attacks rage on ... knowing these uncertain times are a matter of life or death.

President Biden's latest executive order is a big "W" for those in the crypto world, and a clear indicator everyone should, if nothing else, start learning what it's all about ... according to Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" for his "Follow the Money" segment ... giving us his take on Biden's greenlight for feds to study risks and benefits of cryptocurrency. Daymond says the bottom line is ... it's really good news.

He says the news legitimizes crypto, and should get more people to invest. Even further, he believes Biden's interest in creating a digital U.S. dollar will protect all Americans.

Although, the prez did not announce any regulations of cryptocurrency ... Daymond says they'll be necessary to prevent investors from getting hurt or scammed.

Already, 16% of Americans have invested in crypto, and he says that number will increase greatly in the next 10 years.

Former CIA operative Ric Prado says killing Vladimir Putin inside Russia isn't as easy as Sen. Lindsey Graham makes it sound, but he adds ... there is an opening, if the oligarchs want him gone.

Prado, who has more than 20-years experience in in the Agency, broke down what he believes his former colleagues can do to help Ukraine beat back Putin's Russian army. Many people, like Sen. Graham, have said the best option is getting Putin out of power ... and Prado's all for it too.

But, as he explained Thursday on "TMZ Live" ... killing Putin is easier said than done. For starters, he says Putin is well protected and his inner circle will do anything to keep him alive, because they're as good as dead if he's ever assassinated.

Ric also says Russian civilians don't stand a chance against Putin -- they just don't have the weaponry -- but oligarchs have the resources and connections to make Sen. Graham's wish come true.

He says the economic sanctions are squeezing the oligarchs ... and he'd like to see one or more of Russia's 100 billionaires put a bounty on Putin's head just to stop their own economic bleeding.

Trent Hartsfield and his wife were supposed to permanently welcome a Ukrainian orphan to their family ... now he's in a terrifying race against time, as the brutal Russian invasion continues in Ukraine.

Trent joined TMZ live Tuesday from Bucharest, Romania -- he's flown there in hopes of finding 9-year-old Angelina, a little girl his family's trying to adopt as Putin's assault on Ukraine grows more and more brutal.

We spoke to Trent just hours after the Russians shelled a children's hospital ... putting him even more on edge. He says he and his wife fell in love with Angelina back in December when they hosted her for a month. They had to send her back in January, per Ukraine law, but they simultaneously started the process to permanently adopt her.

Once Putin declared war, Trent says he and his wife, Muff, were worried about Angelina's safety and lost all communication with her ... with the exception of one brief video call on Feb. 25.

Quite frankly, he's scared and devastated by the news out of Ukraine ... and wants to do everything in his power to bring Angelina back to the U.S. -- but, right now, it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

Trent says he'll start by going to the Romanian border with Ukraine in hopes missionaries and other volunteers can point him in the right direction.

Hundreds of American families in the process of adopting Ukrainian children are in the same plight as Trent, who says "timing is everything" in his search.

The mass exodus from Ukraine has created a crisis with the pets residents had to leave behind, but in the middle of Putin's brutal war, some Ukrainians have stepped up to save the animals.

Katya Kurletz is on the ground in Ukraine, leading the efforts to track down dogs in destroyed cities and transport them to safety in Poland and Romania ... and she joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to tell us about her dangerous mission.

In the face of constant fear of encountering advancing Russian forces, Katya says she and others are doing everything they can to save Ukrainian pets from the rubble.

Katya tells us there are hundreds of dogs being evacuated ... and her group, Transform a Street Dog, still needs help transporting dogs and cats and finding them new homes.

It's pretty scary .... Katya tells us she saw a Russian missile destroy an entire block, but she couldn't let it derail her mission, because the blast left more pets in need of her help.

We've seen upwards of 1 1/2 million people flee war-torn Ukraine, including the elderly, and it's sad to think about the pets ... but there are some good folks out there looking out for the animals.

Philanthropist Bethenny Frankel's effort to help displaced Ukrainians is raising huge amounts of money, and now she's focused on finding ways to distribute the aid, quickly and safely.

Bethenny was on TMZ Live Monday with a huge update -- her Bstrong initiative (in-partnership with Global Empowerment Mission) has received $25 million worth of aid donations and supplies, with another $10M given in cash ... and the total is still climbing!

She says the supplies are going to an undisclosed location in Ukraine -- kept under wraps for safety concerns -- and they're also operating out of massive warehouses in Poland and Hungary. The goal is to use these hubs for those in need and have them serve as a space for organizations to pick up supplies as needed.

She also tells us the $10M in cash will go towards refugee relocation ... saying it's not about keeping Ukrainians happy in their own country anymore. She says the goal is to get them out safely, which will be more accessible with the money raised.

Bethenny's 11-year-old daughter Bryn has been helping out too ... making artwork to raise some cash for the cause! She made an exclusive set of paintings depicting the Ukrainian flag, and NY Mets owner Steve Cohen bought 5 of 'em right off the bat!

Rep. Adam Kinzinger is on board with encouraging the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he admits America's leaders need to be very careful about how and where they say that.

The Republican congressman joined us Friday on "TMZ live," and we got his reaction to Sen. Lindsey Graham's controversial comments ... calling for Russians to kill Putin. He actually agrees with Graham about taking out Putin, but says he doesn't think the U.S. has to be the one to do it.

Kinzinger says the whole point of seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs is to push them toward taking out Putin.

Sen. Graham came under fire Friday after publicly pushing the notion of assassination.

However, Kinzinger did acknowledge words matter, and the last thing we want to do is stir up folks in Russia to rally against the U.S.

As far as other folks within the Republican party going after Graham for his comments, Rep. Kinzinger says he respects them too and adds ... it's good for politicians in the same party to have a mind of their own.

Ukrainian tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky is back in Ukraine, voluntarily returning to defend his homeland against Russia -- and his second mission is making his wife understand why he's chosen to do the first.

Sergiy was in Kyiv Thursday when he joined us on "TMZ Live" ... and explained the extremely difficult decision he's made to leave his wife and 3 young kids -- ages 3, 6 and 7 -- in Hungary while he takes up arms in Ukraine.

As you can imagine, telling his wife he was leaving safety to go to the middle of his war-torn country was not easy ... and you can hear the agony in Sergiy's voice.

Sergiy says his wife was mad when he told her he was going back to Ukraine ... but he understood there would be no way she could understand.

He says things were initially extremely icy between them, but they are communicating again, and now he's just hoping he'll be able to ask for her forgiveness one day ... in person.

You wanna talk about being torn in separate directions -- Sergiy tells us he's not sure he made the right choice in joining Ukraine's reserve army, but at the same time he says staying home with his family in Hungary wouldn't be the right choice either.

This is just a few powerful moments of our conversation with him -- but Sergiy also told us how he and other Ukrainians are feeling about the possibility of a ceasefire, and about Vladimir Putin.

Bethenny Frankel is commanding an army of her own -- hundreds of people tasked with saving Ukrainians as Russia invades their homeland, and how she does it is a remarkable lesson in efficiency.

The philanthropist and entrepreneur joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to talk more about her Bstrong initiative, which is raising millions and sending aid to the war-torn country. Bethenny had announced her partnership with Global Empowerment Mission, pledging $10 mil in food, medical aid and other supplies.

All of that aid's being boxed up in her South Florida warehouse ... but on top of that, Bstrong continues to raise even more cash -- more than $5 million -- to help fleeing Ukrainians at the Poland border relocate. As for how she's pulling off this extraordinary humanitarian effort -- Bethenny tells us it's all about being "efficient and lean," and knowing where help is most needed.

She adds, for anyone looking to donate their cash to her initiative, your money certainly won't go to waste 'cause her team is on the ground working.

It's no surprise Bethenny's among those leading the charge ... she says she's gotten lots of training in relief efforts for natural disasters, like tropical storms in Texas, the Caribbean and the Australian wildfires. She says her history of putting on big productions, with many moving parts, has helped hone her get-it-done mindset.

Ukrainians are fighting tooth and nail against Russian forces trying to take over the country, but it isn't just the military in the bunkers ... it's normal citizens too.

Journalist Terrell Jermaine Starr broke down this breathtaking -- and sometimes heartbreaking -- aspect of the Russian invasion when he joined us Monday on "TMZ Live." He's embedded with a group of volunteers in Kyiv who've answered the call to take up arms and battle the Russian superpower.

One important factor here ... as Terrell told us, these aren't trained soldiers, they're ordinary folks -- from shoemakers to lawyers -- fighting to preserve their freedom and sovereignty with little to no military training.

Starr has one of these volunteers with him in the car -- a guy named Andriy Koronenko -- who says the end game is fending off Russia and getting its soldiers the hell out of their borders ... but it's a daunting task for volunteer platoons.

Based on local reports, it would appear groups like these are actually finding success in certain confrontations. We've seen Ukrainians decimating a good amount of Russian tanks and, in some cases, wiping out entire convoys on the move.

As you know ... the government has told its citizenry to get creative on pushing back, which includes homemade Molotov cocktails they're encouraging folks to chuck at passing Russians.